---

In this fourth week of Lent, we are again reminded that our God celebrates the flourishing of life and of relationships! In the First Reading, God announces to Joshua: “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” God’s people are free! They have been saved from oppression and slavery, they have endured all the trials of the desert, they have crossed the River Jordan, and they have entered the Promise Land. Now they celebrate Pass­over — the meal that began this journey many years ago, the meal of remembrance and liberation! They feast on the fruits of the land of Canaan! As Psalm 91 declares: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!” The people are radiant with joy. The Holy One has heard them and saved them from all their distress.

In the Gospel for Sunday, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is also a celebration — but it seems that the joy is mixed with sadness. In his book “The Cultural World of Jesus,” John J. Pilch calls this the parable of the “Two Lost Sons.” Pilch gives important background for understanding the parable. By asking for his inheritance, the younger son acted shamefully, behaving as if his father were dead. The father relents and divides the property between both sons. The older brother also acts badly in taking his share — it was his responsibility to refuse his share and to reconcile his father and younger brother.

The younger brother’s actions seem more egregious — wasting the inheritance in dissolute living. His sorry state is highlighted in his new job: caring for pigs. Yet he is starving and yearning for home. He also realizes that by taking his inheritance and squandering it, he has possibly deprived his father of care in his old age! This son is in bad straits! But he reasons that he could become a “hired servant” as a way to support himself, pay what he lost, care for his father and perhaps even win back some honor among his people. Will he be accepted again?

The younger son’s welcome is far beyond his imagining! He isn’t able to deliver his carefully rehearsed apology because his father races through the village to meet him, thus announcing to everyone that he forgives his son. The father’s warm embrace and kiss seal the forgiveness. The sandals and cloak lift the man from his wretched state of servitude. The ring is a sign of the father’s trust. The fatted calf is the centerpiece of the banquet that will be given for the entire village because it could feed 100 people! This relationship is healed; forgiveness is poured out and heartfelt sorrow and humility are expressed. All is well. Let the celebration begin!

Not yet. Now the elder brother is lost. His role should be to honor his father by accepting his younger brother and being the host of the banquet. But he insults his father and humiliates him. His stinging words are hurtful and filled with half-truths. In reality, the elder brother has not been deprived of anything by the younger son’s poor choices. The father gently reminds him of this: “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours …” Now can the celebrating begin? It’s a cliffhanger because we don’t know how the elder son will respond.

Jesus’ parables always have a twist and hold up a mirror. For me, the twist is the overwhelming forgiveness and love shown by the father to the younger son and the terrible rejection of that forgiveness by the elder. The mirror is: which sibling am I? Am I aware of the tremendous gifts of boundless compassion and forgiveness heaped on me by the Father? Am I willing to share these gifts with others, especially those who have wounded me deeply?

St. Paul encourages us to celebrate being new creations in Christ. He calls us to let go of the old things — hurts, anger, revenge, jealousy and to embrace the new — to be reconciled in Christ. We need to be messengers of this forgiveness and reconciliation, to be ambassadors for Christ. This means we need to model the forgiveness and acceptance that Jesus has shown us and that the “prodigal (prodigiously extravagant) father” showed his two sons.

---